President exhorts party to sustain Jagan legacy
“WE know of the iconic nature of Cheddi Jagan – and Cheddi Jagan did not have this iconic nature thrust upon him;  he earned it largely because of the values that he stood for and actively practised – the values that led to the emergence of the only national party in Guyana, a party that is not bigoted, a party that does not fall prey, even in the worst of times, to narrow, selfish views of racism and pedantic behaviour.

Cheddi Jagan will always guide this country, always inspire members of the PPP, regardless of age, because of the evergreen and everlasting nature of the values that he imbued in the party.”

“People don’t get persecuted because of what they say against the government. We don’t starve people because they don’t support us.  We don’t stop doing infrastructural work in their communities because we feel they may support the PNC. We don’t do that because we see them as Guyanese; we see their children as Guyanese, so they have equal access as Guyanese children to education, regardless of which political party they belong to.  This is the era of new thinking, and that new thinking can only be found in the People’s Progressive Party.” – President Jagdeo

Alluding to remarks made by party General-Secretary Donald Ramotar that the PPP/C Government structures its development programmes to suit the challenges of the changing national and global dynamics, the president reiterated that the Government is not stagnant in vision, activity and enthusiasm, because the party’s vision for Guyana is relevant to the present time, as well as current and emerging challenges, where it is essential to create a modern society with modern opportunities for young Guyanese, especially by way of driving cutting-edge technology to generate the next wave of jobs for future  generations.

In comparison to this vision of the PPP/C that seeks to unite the peoples of this country and provide them with equity in opportunities for growth and personal development with those of PPP detractors, Guyana’s Head-of-State dismissed their visions as “stale, boring and irrelevant”.
Speaking of the PPP/C track record of progress, the president described these as being enormous and alluded to the recent high IMF rating of Guyana’s economic performance, despite the negativity projected by opportunistic politicians.
However, he explained that progress comes incrementally, because things happen over time.  He warned that things look good on paper but make no sense in practical terms.  He listed some of the things that have been achieved by the PPP/C government, which are consistently criticized by the opposition, citing the plan and interventions by government to sustain the sugar industry as an example, as well as the government’s housing drive.
He said the PPP/C government has a good track record, since it is a strong party that is committed to the Guyanese people; and also the party is relevant, because it has a dynamic vision that is ever-evolving – never growing old; while other parties, although newly-established, still have their groundings and visions firmly rooted in the era that continually seeks to divide this nation rather than bringing people together; and an era that seeks to chart the nation retrogressively – take it backwards – mentally, economically and, consequently, socially.

On this basis, emphasized President Jagdeo, everyone, in particular the young people, will be attracted to the party’s vision and will make the right decision and choice “…as we move to win the next general election.”

OUR  EGYPTIAN EXPERIENCE

Warning against the probability of global affairs to negatively impact Guyana’s wellbeing, both politically and in the economic context, President Jagdeo drew attention to the protests against undemocratic leaders across the world, particularly Egypt.

He stressed that, although the hate-mongers, whom he identified as the AFC and others he described as “the fringe elements”  urge the Guyanese people to emulate the actions of the Egyptian protesters against the PPP/C government, Guyana has already experienced its own version of what is currently transpiring in Egypt – and that was in the days of the PNC dictatorship which was defeated when the democratic forces in Guyana triumphed on  October 5, 1992 to herald real freedom in Guyana, still enjoyed today.

“Our Egypt,” said the President “is not an Egypt of today.  Our Egypt was the Egypt of the 70s and the 80s, when people were killed because of their belief, when they were persecuted and locked up for uttering a single word against the (PNC) government, when they were starved of food and food was used as a political tool, and when just having bread made from wheat (flour) in your home could land you in jail.
“That was the era of repression, the lack of democracy:  That was the era of (Guyana’s) Egypt; and I tell you this because a lot of the media houses do not recognize that; and because the PNC has just chosen, as their presidential candidate, a man who was very active in that era – the era of repression, the era of starving our people; and I say this because they have gone backwards to choose someone who is characterised by repression, someone who has blood on his hands.
“I say this because the people here in Berbice – the people who were killed protecting ballot boxes, protecting democracy, were killed in full knowledge of people like Granger and the others (in the PNC) who controlled the political direction of the country at that time.
“Today this country is free”, asserted the President.

STORMING BARRIERS OF RACISM, HUNGER & POVERTY

This statement was followed by loud and prolonged applause.  President Jagdeo noted that the democracy in Guyana allows such freedom of speech whereby detractors of the PPP criticize and vilify the PPP/C Government on untruthful allegations with no repercussions, except imaginary ones.
“People don’t get persecuted because of what they say against the government. We don’t starve people because they don’t support us.  We don’t stop doing infrastructural work in their communities because we feel they may support the PNC.
“We don’t do that because we see them as Guyanese; we see their children as Guyanese, so they have equal access as Guyanese children to education, regardless of which political party they belong to.  This is the era of new thinking, and that new thinking can only be found in the People’s Progressive Party.”
According to President Jagdeo, regardless of the duration of time that the PPP/C has governed the country, the party’s thinking evolves and is refreshed with the changing times and dynamics, so it is relevant in current times, as it has been in the past,
He declared that the PPP/C will continue to unapologetically wage the struggle to better the lives of all Guyanese.  Stressing that the PPP,  as one of its primary tasks, has actively fought racism since the formation of the Party, President Jagdeo emphasised that the Jagans brought people together and created a national movement to storm colonialism.  “Today, we need to bring people together – all of our people, regardless of race or religion, to storm barriers of racism and hunger and poverty.  The PPP will not be Jagan’s party if we depart from that.”